Blood Runs Thicker Than Water
by Lord of the Ring Pops
Summary: In which Percy Jackson has another evil grandfather ("the Dark Lord"? Who comes up with these names?), Harry Potter has an interesting winter break (by interesting, the author means life-threatening), and stick-waving maniacs abound everywhere (typical).
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I am not cool enough to be Rick Riordan or J. K. Rowling, nor do I own any of their respective series.**

**A/N: Hey! It's me. Just found out about the Percy-is-the-grandson-of-Voldemort type of stories a day ago and I've already written my own. Ugh, it's awful. I stress-write, and since none of those stories have been finished... Here lies the product. Hope you enjoy.**

It started with a dream.

_A figure sat at the head of the table in a high-backed chair, presiding with aristocratic boredom over the meeting. He had pallid skin that was accentuated by the pitch black robes he wore. He was bald and had cold, dead eyes. Most strikingly, though, was his absence of a nose. _

_ Percy stared at the two snake-like slits that were located where his nose should be and wondered if and how the man picked his nose._

_ "What of the matter I asked you to investigate?" the man said, his voice a silky hiss. His slits flared slightly and Percy struggled to fight the urge to scrutinize them closer._

_ "Master," another man said, voice shaking a little. "We, uh, we do believe that, well – "_

_ "_Crucio_," the first man said simply, and pointed a wand-like object at him. Pained screams filled the air as the frightened man twitched and convulsed on the floor. Percy could only stare in horror._

_ "Be more articulate," the snake man said, voice unperturbed. "The next time, I might remove your tongue and save me the trouble of having to listen to you. Would anyone else care to explain?"_

_ There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence as the other people around the table looked at each other, silently urging the other with to explain. Finally, a brave soul squeaked out, "You have a daughter."_

_ "A daughter," mused the snake man. Percy shuddered and tried to banish the image of this creature doing _anything_ that could result in a child. Where was the mind bleach when you needed it?_

_ "This suits my plans. Is she a capable witch?"_

_ "Master, we...we think she's a squib."_

_ There was a beat of silence, and the snake man said, "_Crucio_."_

_ Percy closed his eyes and clenched his fists. No one, not even evil servants of the snake man, deserved to be tortured like that._

_ "You have a grandson as well," the woman gasped out after it was over. "And he might be a wizard."_

_ The snake man smiled cruelly. "Well, this shall have to suffice," he said. "Have someone retrieve him at once. Bring him before me, unharmed. I will retire for the night, and I shall be very angry should any of you disturb my sleep."_

_ He stood up, robes billowing, and took two confident strides away before stopping. He turned around._

_ "What is his name?" he said._

* * *

Percy woke up, staring up into darkness and wondering what it meant. He checked his bedside clock and judged it too early to still be up, so he sank back into sleep, this time dreamless.

* * *

Halfway across the ocean, another boy woke up as well. He felt sick and nauseous. Luckily, this time he hadn't screamed himself awake or tangled himself up in the blankets. But this dream was almost as disturbing as the other ones.

Voldemort had a grandson.

"Percy Jackson," Harry whispered.

**Review? If you say you like it, I'll continue it. I already have half of the first chapter done. It (hopefully) gets better. Sorry this was so short; it was the prologue, so the next ones, if continued, will be longer.**


	2. 1: Grocery Store Goons

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I'm not Rick Riordan or J. K. Rowling, no matter how many times you check, and I don't own anything related to them or their works. **

**A/N: Wow, thanks so much for the reviews! I'm shocked people actually like this. Well, without any farther ado, I present the first chapter.**

* * *

Chapter One

"Thank you for telling me this, Harry," Dumbledore said, looking very grave. He sat back in his chair and frowned pensively, gazing at the whirring objects that filled his office. "I will look into it at once."

"Professor," Harry said. "Do you think his grandson is – is like him?" He imagined the Tom Riddle who had appeared from the diary horcrux and in Slughorn's memory. He had been charming and handsome, winning the trust of the entire school even as he murdered a girl and experimented with the Dark Arts. How would they know if Percy was guilty if he, like his grandfather, could so effectively fool almost everyone? What would happen to the wizarding world with the appearance of a second Voldemort?

"We should not judge him for what his ancestors have done," Dumbledore said seriously. "Do you believe it right that the entire world thought Sirius as guilty as the rest of his family?"

"No! Of course not!" Harry exclaimed. "But – but it's _Voldemort_." He pictured Voldemort placing a grandfatherly hand on the shoulder of a handsome cold-eyed boy and shuddered.

"I ask you to withhold your prejudices until we find out more about him, Harry," Dumbledore said. "That being said, I am quite astute at locating the truth. No one is an impeccable actor, and sooner or later, the mask becomes dislodged."

How could Dumbledore act so nonchalant about this as if finding out about a cheating student? This was _Voldemort's grandson _they were talking about. But with Dumbledore gazing at him, waiting for his reply, Harry bit back his frustration and nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"Harry, listen to me. Do not pursue this matter. I will look into it myself. Until I determine the facts, please focus on your studies and keep this to yourself. Do not – I repeat – do not tell anyone."

"Yes, Professor," Harry said again.

* * *

Of course he told Ron and Hermione. How could he not?

"You're joking!" Ron exclaimed.

"Keep it down!" Harry whispered, looking around the library for Madam Prince, who miraculously seemed not to have heard.

Lowering his voice, Ron continued, "That's crazy. Who would want to marry _You-Know-Who_?"

"Not all children are born out of wedlock, Ron," Hermione said. "But Harry, you shouldn't have told us. If Dumbledore told you not to – "

"I think you have a right to know," Harry said honestly. "You've been through as much as I have."

Hermione looked torn.

"Come on, Hermione, what could we do once we find out?" Ron said. He laughed. "It's not as if we know where he lives."

Harry coughed.

"Coming down with a cold, mate?"

"No, Ron! He's obviously trying to tell us that he _knows Percy's location_!" Hermione said. "Oh, I hope you told Dumbledore that!"

"Of course I did, Hermione!" Harry said, stung.

Hermione looked relieved. "Well, we don't have anything to worry about then. Dumbledore will figure things out."

Harry shook his head and looked over at Ron. "If his grandson isn't evil, then he's in immediate danger. And if he _is_ evil, I need to stop him."

Ron paled, but he summoned up a brave laugh. "If you're going, I'll go. What's a little more danger in our lives?"

"Why?" Hermione demanded. "Dumbledore can take care of it better than we can!"

"He's the headmaster. He can't just leave whenever he feels like it. Remember the last time that happened? The Philosopher's stone incident, that's what. And winter break is starting in two days, so we'd only be missing a couple days of classes. I _have_ to go, Hermione."

Hermione bit her lip. "Oh, all right," she sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you actually have good reasons. Where does he live?"

"New York City. America."

She stood up. "I'll research the best way to get there," she said. "When do we leave?"

Harry smiled nervously, the reality of what he was suggesting finally reaching him. "As soon as we can."

* * *

Percy, apparently, could never catch a break. Even in the grocery store.

"Are you Percy Jackson?" one of the three men decked in black robes asked. Two of them were built like walls. The other one was thin and aristocratic, with long, flowing white-blond hair.

"Um...no. My name's Peter, actually. Peter Johnson," Percy said. He didn't think it was a good idea to give out his real name to them. Call it a gut feeling, but there was something he didn't like about them. Maybe it was the fact that they were literally wearing ankle-length dresses. Maybe it was the fact that they were glaring at him threateningly. Or maybe it was the fact that they looked like the evil servants from his dream, and they were brandishing the same torture stick the snake man had held.

"Oh. Wrong person," the same man said.

"You idiot! He's obviously lying!" the one with nice hair snapped. He pointed the stick at Percy, who dropped the basket of groceries he was holding and bolted before any torture magic came at him.

"Come back!" one of the walls shouted.

"No thank you!" Percy yelled back. He ducked into the canned goods aisle and risked a glance backwards. Both Wall A and Wall B had turned the corner and followed him into the aisle, but Nice Hair was no where in sight.

Percy uncapped Riptide and skidded to a stop. Surprised, the two men stopped as well and looked at each other in confusion. He took the opportunity to disarm them, which he succeeded astonishingly easily. For all their muscle, they apparently had no experience in hand-to-hand (or wand-to-sword) combat.

_This is almost too easy_, Percy thought suspiciously. He was right.

He stabbed one of them with his sword, expecting him to disintegrate into monster dust. Nothing happened. Riptide simply went through them almost as if they weren't monsters.

"You're humans," Percy said, eyes wide.

"We're wizards," one of them said, looking affronted.

"Dummy, we're humans too," the other said.

They didn't even seem to have noticed that his pen had turned into a sword.

Before Percy could question them further, the one with the flowing locks walked calmly into the canned goods aisle. "Ah. Crabbe, Goyle, splendid work. You've captured him. Apparate back. The Dark Lord shall be pleased."

One of the walls reached for him, but Percy backed up out of reach.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "What do you want from me?"

"I sincerely apologize for the rudeness. My name is Lucius Malfoy, and these two are Crabbe and Goyle. It doesn't matter which is which." Crabbe and/or Goyle grunted at that, and Lucius shot them an irritated look. "As I was saying, you are coming with us. Grab him, Crabbe."

"I don't think so," Percy said. As fast as he could, he snatched up the two sticks on the ground and backpedaled.

"Our wands!" Goyle (or Crabbe) exclaimed.

"Idiots," Lucius grumbled. "You let him take your wands?"

"He was too fast!"

"If you don't tell me what you want from me, I'll – I'll break these," Percy announced, hoping the wands were irreplaceable.

"Don't!" Crabbe and Goyle shouted in synchronized alarm, identical looks on their burly faces.

Lucius's face turned serious. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

Percy silently breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, so you said you were wizards? What's that about?"

"What it is 'about' is that we are able to use magic. According to our intelligence, you are a wizard as well. Unfortunately, you are not a pureblood like the three of us, but you _are_ the grandson of our lord, so we will make an exception and allow you into our ranks."

Percy blinked, first in confusion, then in disgust as something finally clicked for him. "That's nasty! Are you saying my grandfather is snake man?"

Crabbe and Goyle laughed, while Lucius's face tightened. "While I must admit his face bears resemblance to a snake's, I would advise you to call him 'Master' if you must address him at all. He is Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord."

The one who had tortured two people so easily and callously was his grandfather? Percy rubbed his face. He wasn't even surprised anymore, just mildly confused. He already had one evil grandfather (who he'd defeated and sent to Tartarus); really, with his luck, Percy should have expected another one. Which brought up a question: which side of the family was 'Voldemort' from? He'd have to ask his mom about it later.

His mom! Oh no, she was going to kill him.

"Yeah, um, nice meeting you two, but I need to go. Sorry!" Percy said, capping Riptide and making a break for it. Guests were coming over today, and his mom had told him to be at home to receive them. She was working and Paul was at some kind of teachers convention, so they weren't at home.

"_Impedimenta!_" Lucius shouted, but it missed and nothing happened. Not wanting to test his luck again, Percy ignored the looks of disapproving shoppers and raced out of the store as if hellhounds were at his heels (not literally, though; the "wizards" looked more like clumsy giant bats with their black flowing robes flapping behind them as they attempted to chase after him.)

* * *

He took the stairs two at a time, praying to the gods that he wasn't too late. His heart sank when he saw three people outside his door. They were already there.

"Hey!" he called.

They turned around. Percy didn't recognize any of them. They looked around his age. There were two boys, one skinny and bespectacled, the other red-haired and uncomfortable. The girl looked anxious. She had a similar know-it-all air that most children of Athena had.

"I'm so sorry," Percy said, trying to catch his breath after running the whole way back. "Were you waiting for long?"

"No," the girl said politely.

"Yes," the red-head said at the same time.

"Sorry," Percy said again, fishing out his keys from his pocket. "I was out getting groceries, but then I met these three guys, and...well, long story."

The boy with glasses wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at the two wands poking out of Percy's pocket. "You're a wizard?"

Percy froze. Then he narrowed his eyes. Clearly the three back at the grocery store hadn't been enough. "I guess you're all wizards also," he said. When was this going to end? How many lackeys did the snake-man (his grandfather, ew!) have?

"You're Percy Jackson, aren't you?" the boy said in a distinctly unfriendly tone of voice. "Voldemort's grandson."

Percy scowled at them, wondering how he was going to get out of this. They knew where he lived, and they weren't even monsters, so Riptide couldn't hurt them. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I've already met Crabbe, Goyle, and Lucius Malfoy, and they really won me over," he said sarcastically.

"I knew it!" the red-head exclaimed.

The boy with glasses whipped out a wand and aimed it at Percy. "_Stupefy!_" he shouted, but Percy dodged it. He looked around hurriedly for a weapon – he couldn't keep running forever; he wasn't the Duracell bunny – but the only thing he saw was a flower pot. He lunged for it anyway. A lame weapon was better than no weapon at all.

The red-head's shout of "_Stupefy!_" was the last thing Percy heard before everything faded to black.

* * *

**A/N 2: Sorry for the cliff-hanger! I actually didn't notice this was one until my sister pointed it out, lol. I'm not sure when chapter two will be out, so to tide the wait over, I hereby give you permission to imagine Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking at each other after knocking Percy out like, "_What do we do now?"_ and then Harry and Ron playing a round of rock, papers, scissors to determine who has to haul Percy's unconscious body away until Hermione points out that they could just use magic to levitate him. Then they bring Percy somewhere, tie him up to a chair, and Ron draws with a Sharpie on his face. He gives Percy whiskers, a goatee, a beard, and eyelashes, and after that he and Harry play games of Tic-Tac-Toe on Percy until he wakes up. Picture Percy trying and failing to act intimidating with Ron's beautiful doodles adorning his face. I hope you feel better now.**


	3. 2: Percy Faints a Lot

**Disclaimer: The characters and ideas from this fanfiction (key word: fan) are not my own, and I do not claim to be Rick Riordan or J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: I'm soo sorry for the extremely late update! It's been almost three months, and I really am sorry, but I do have excuses, like AP tests, normal tests, finals, SAT IIs, and then imediately vacation without a computer. I'm in a different country right now for the summer (China, for those of you astute/dedicated enough to check my profile), but I think I'll have access to a computer from now on (no promises though), so hopefully the updates will be more frequent. **

**Well, you don't want to hear about my ramblings, do you? Onto the story!**

* * *

Chapter Two

Percy was faintly aware of talking.

"This is ridiculous!" a girl's voice whispered.

"No, it's not! It's working!" a boy responded.

Percy felt strange, almost weightless. He could feel a gentle breeze brush against his face, almost as if he was moving, but he was fairly confident that he wasn't touching the ground. And he wasn't certain, but he was pretty sure that he was upright and not lying down like he normally was when he woke up, since his head was listing to the side and he now had an uncomfortable crick in his neck.

"Ron, people are staring! His legs aren't even moving and Harry's clearly got his wand pointed at him and his head's leaning and _we're basically kidnappers now!_ And everyone knows it, I can tell!"

"Calm down! You're the one attracting the most attention! No one knew and no one was staring until you - "

"Guys!" another boy said. "I think he's starting to wake up!"

"Knock him out again!" the first boy replied.

"No! I will not participate in this kidnapping! This is unethical! We should at least hear him out before stunning him like complete barbarians!"

Percy decided it was time to open his eyes and find out what was going on.

A busy street, a blue sky, cars whizzing by - this definitely was not his house. But everything looked familiar, so Percy was still in New York City. In fact, he realized that he was just several blocks away from his house.

But the strangest thing was - Percy was floating. Like, upright, hovering a few inches above the pavement, and keeping in pace with the three wizards who'd attacked him. Magic was so cool! He could imagine the endless possibilities, like if he ever had to hide from someone, or - or, no, this could be some kind of signature move against monsters, and, it would have an epic name, like - No! Focus, Percy, focus!

"What do you want with me?" Percy demanded, trying to reach the ground with his foot. But it was so - ugh, missed! - far - missed again - away!

The girl stared at his struggling foot but thankfully didn't comment on it. "Thank goodness you're awake. Do you mind coming with us to see Dumbledore so you can be questioned?" she said.

"Hermione!" the red-head hissed. "We don't tell the enemy anything! Much less ask them for permission!"

Percy ignored him. "First Moldy Wart, now Dumb el Boar - what next? Are these code names or something? Because I really can't imagine someone giving her kid one of these names," Percy said, trying to distract them from his attempts to get down. He wasn't making any progress.

The three stared at him.

_Moldy Wart_, the girl mouthed, struggling to keep a serious expression. "I doubt he knows anything."

_Dumb el Boar_, the boy wih glasses mouthed. He said, "I don't think even Ron could be that dense."

"Hey!" both Percy and Ron exclaimed at the same time. They looked at each other and then looked away.

"He looks denser," Percy said.

"I still think he's working for You-Know-Who!" Ron exclaimed with a glare.

"No, I don't know who," Percy retorted. Was this Leave Percy out of the Loop Day?

"You do! There's no way you can't not!"

"The only one I'm working for is myself! And hopefully Mandy's Ice Cream Shop, if I can get a job there."

Seemingly at a loss of what to say, Ron just glared some more.

The girl called Hermione interrupted them. "As much fun it is watching you two bicker, I think it's time we get things straight. Harry's going to let you down, and if you show any sign of trying to run away, we'll..."

"Stupefy you," supplied Harry.

"Stupefy? As in, make me more stupid? I don't think my test scores could take it," Percy said. "Maybe you could just, I don't know - "

"_Stun_ you, he means," Hermione said. "A common enough spell that I should have thought all wizards would know. I don't think you've received any formal training. But perhaps the spells American wizards use are dfferent from the ones British wizards use. Do you think..."

Percy tuned her out. He had no idea what she was talking about anyway, and from the looks of it, neither did Ron or Harry.

Harry gave Percy a suspicious look, to which Percy responded with his best look-how-trustworthy-I-am smile. Harry frowned, but he must have somehow undid the spell, because Percy felt his feet finally (FINALLY!) touch the ground. Caught off guard, he wobbled and fell in an undignified manner.

Immediately, both Ron and Hermione trained their wands on him. Harry hadn't removed his. "No sudden movements," Hermione warned.

Percy slowly stood up, feeling adrenaline rushing through his veins. He really didn't like the idea of being on the end of three wands, and he wondered if he could act fast enough and disarm them like he'd done to - what were their names again? Crab and Boil? He honestly couldn't recall.

When Percy didn't do anything, the three wizards warily lowered their wands.

"Anything suspicious, and you know what'll happen," Ron said.

"First question," Harry said. "Are you Percy Jackson?"

* * *

After they'd established that yes, he was Percy Jackson, and that no, he did not have any plans, past, present, or future, to kill/maim/torture any of them, they agreed to going some place a bit more comfortable to discuss things.

Of course Percy took them to a pizza parlor. The best way to talk about things was over food, and besides, he'd wanted to try this one out for quite some time. He just prayed that the monsters would stay away.

"Okay, so now that you know who I am," Percy said, taking a large bite of his pizza, "whmmf ir ooh?"

"Sorry?" Harry said, with a slight grin. "I'm not quite fluent in pizza-in-your-mouth speak." The three wizards seemed to have relaxed a bit after coming to the pizza parlor. Maybe it was because of Percy's inherent charm winning them over, or maybe it was because they thought that dark wizards wouldn't enjoy pizza. Whatever the case, Percy was glad that his chances of being on the receiving end of a wand were lowered.

Percy swallowed and tried again. "I said, who are you?"

"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said.

"Ron Weasley." This was said with a glare. Ron still hadn't shed his suspicious look yet.

"Harry Potter," Harry said meaningfully.

There was silence, and Percy realized they were all staring at him, as if waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Oh," he said. "Sorry. Uh. Nice to meet you guys?"

"You've never heard of him?" Ron demanded. "The Boy Who Lived? The Chosen One? The Triwizard Champion? The - "

"No," Percy said. "Um, am I supposed to know? Is this a test? What's so unique about being a boy who's alive?"

"You really don't know," Hermione said, in a sort of amazed voice. She realized she was gaping and then looked faintly embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just that everyone knows. I'll explain, then. There's this dark wizard, Voldemort - that's You-Know-Who, people don't call him by his name because they're scared - and he tortured and killed a lot of people. He hated muggles and muggleborns, and he was the leader of a group called the Death Eaters..."

She continued talking, and Percy didn't really understand much of it. (Like, what were muggles? They sounded sort of like cuddly teddy bears. Voldemort was definitely evil if he hated them.) By the end, all he got out of her explanation was that wizards were real (apparently), he had another evil grandfather (who might or might not be more evil but less powerful than Chronos), and that Harry defeated him when he was a baby, but Voldemort came back and they were now mortal enemies (wasn't that a bit embarrassing for Voldemort though?).

"So why is everyone after me?" Percy asked. "I have enough on my plate, no offense. I'm not about to join some old guy I've never met just because we're related. I'm related to a lot of people."

"Then what was that thing you said - about how Malfoy's dad and his two bodyguards convinced you?" Ron asked triumphantly.

"That was clearly sarcasm, Ron," Hermione said.

"Oh." Ron frowned and bit into his pizza.

That reminded Percy of his own pizza, and he resumed eating. It was around lunchtime, and he was hungry. They lapsed into silence as they ate, and Percy took the chance to study them. They all looked really normal; Harry was an average-looking boy with large circular glasses, Hermione had bushy hair and a pretty ordinary face, and Ron looked like any other person on the streets, except maybe for his bright red hair and smattering of freckles. None of them really looked like they were part of a group that actively fought against a powerful dark wizard. They were just teens, and if Hermione was right, they'd first encountered Snake Face when they were eleven!

Then Percy realized that he hadn't been much older when he'd gone on his first quest. He'd been twelve when he fought the minotaur and won, and he'd led Camp Half-Blood to victory against Chronos just a few months ago. He suddenly felt very sympathetic for them.

"I think I believe you," Harry said abruptly, jolting Percy out of his thoughts. "You don't really seem like you're supporting Voldemort. You don't have the Dark Mark either, and I don't think someone could pretend to not know anything that convincingly." He looked at his two friends for feedback.

Hermione nodded. "I think so too," she said.

Ron shrugged. "Maybe." Then he gave Percy another glare. "But if you ever try to hurt Harry..."

"I won't," Percy promised.

They were almost done eating when Percy spotted it. Slithering in through the front door was a woman with scaly skin and two serpent tails for legs. _Scythian Dracanae._

_What's it doing here?_ Percy wondered frantically. Just his luck. Of _course_ a monster would show up when it really mattered, even though he hadn't seen one in several weeks. Of _course_.

"I, uh, gotta go," he said. He slapped a few dollars on the table before getting up.

"Wait! You still need to see Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed. "And, well, we don't really have any money to pay for the pizza. I mean, we have some galleons and sickles, and some pounds too, but not any American money. I was going to exchange the pounds for dollars, but I completely forgot... I'll pay you back, I just need to get to an ATM..."

It was getting closer. "No, it's fine," Percy said, heart pounding. "My treat." He emptied his pockets on the table, not caring that sticks of gum and some pocket lint fell out as well. The snake lady was staring at him, eyes narrowed, as it walked and slithered towards him.

He couldn't do this here. There were mortals here, for one, but the wizards were here too. Percy wasn't sure how they'd take it if they saw him slice a seemingly normal human in half. "About Dumblydoor, I'll be right back. Wait here."

He bolted out the back door, the _dracanae_ close behind him.

* * *

"Well, that wasn't suspicious at all," Ron said. "And yes, I know what sarcasm is and I can use it just fine. I just didn't expect the bloody grandson of You-Know-Who to use it as well!"

"Should we follow them?" Harry asked, already standing up.

"But - oh, you know following people never does us any good!" Hermione cried. "We should just let him go! He looked like he was in a hurry. He said he'd be back!"

"He looked like he saw someone we weren't supposed to know about," Ron argued. "He just looked up and paled when he saw that strange woman. Something's going on. Let's go, Harry. What if she's a Death Eater?"

"And what can we do once we find out?" Hermione demanded. "Fight _both_ of them?"

"It's two on three," Ron said.

"And we have the element of surprise," added Harry.

Hermione bit her lip, worried, but Ron knew she would follow. He and Harry quickly traced the path Percy and the woman had taken. The back door was a thick, windowless door, most likely an emergency exit in the case of a fire. Right now, Ron hated how thick it was. He tried pressing his ear against it, but he couldn't hear anything except for the loud chatter of the occupants of the restaurant. He gave up and stepped back, taking his wand out as Harry slowly opened the door.

What he saw confused him.

Percy was there in the alley with the woman. He was holding something in his hands - Ron squinted; for some reason, it looked like an actual sword for a moment before he realized it was just a switchblade. Rather than having some friendly Death Eater reunion, Percy had been about to stab her with it when they opened the door. Since he was facing it, though, he was distracted and looked away from the woman for a split second to stare at them with a panicked expression on his face. The woman took the opportunity to knock him to the ground with - what was that? It had looked like some shiny metal weapon for some reason, but it was just a purse. Ron blinked, wondering what was wrong with his eyesight.

Percy drew in a breath in pain, and he must have done something, but the woman was blocking Ron's view and suddenly she disappeared. Apparition?

All that was left was a dusty, panting Percy in a snow-covered but otherwise empty alley.

Ron frowned. Percy's switchblade was gone. Now he was holding a pen.

"Okay, what's going on?" Ron demanded.

Percy looked at him and winced, putting a hand over his side. It came away red with blood, and Ron's eyes widened. How had that happened?

"Long story," Percy said, and smiled tentatively.

"We're listening," Harry said.

"Do any of you have a phone I could borrow first?"

None of them did. Ron wasn't quite sure what he was even asking for, but evidently Harry and Hermione did, so he guessed it must be a muggle thing.

In the end, they helped him walk over to a "phone booth." Hermione had tried to heal his cut with _episkey_, but it must have been pretty deep, because it was still bleeding slightly. Percy brushed away their worries with a simple "I've had worse." It made Ron wonder exactly what Percy meant. Was he referring to something You-Know-Who-related?

When he was on the phone, they took several steps back to give him some privacy and also to give themselves time to talk.

"What just happened?" Ron asked in a whisper. "I thought that lady was a Death Eater and she wanted to tell him something because they were working together, but they were actually fighting and then she cut him with her purse and then apparated away!"

"She wasn't holding a purse," Hermione said. Harry nodded in agreement. "She was holding a can of mace."

Harry frowned. "No, she was holding a necklace."

They looked at each other in confusion.

"It looked like a spear at first," Ron admitted.

"There's something wrong with your eyes, then," Hermione said. "It was always a can of mace. And she sprayed it in his face, I think, and that's why he fell down. He probably cut himself on something sharp in the alley when he was falling."

"It looked like a necklace to me," Harry said, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Maybe it was some kind of illusion magic!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "That's possible. What did the woman look like to you two?"

They compared their versions of what they had seen, and realized they'd seen distinctly different things. Hermione had seen an old lady and thought Percy had been holding a knife. Harry had seen a blond woman in her twenties and thought he had been holding a slice of pizza. Everything else, they agreed, was the same. Percy was a normal-looking teen with dark messy hair and green eyes. The alley was dirty and made of brick with graffiti all over. There were three trash bags next to the back door of the pizza parlor and a thin coating of snow on the ground.

"But if it's illusion magic, why would it affect only the woman and what they were holding?" Hermione asked.

"What if she's actually a monster snake woman and they were using magical weapon?"

"Ron. Be serious." Hermione frowned at him disapprovingly.

"She could be a Death Eater, and disguised her appearance," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "Possible. And maybe they were holding wands, but they cast magic on it so that people wouldn't wonder why they were holding sticks." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Although that doesn't explain why Percy could recognize her. Perhaps once you know what someone looks like, you won't be fooled by the illusion... I haven't heard of this spell, of course, but it could be advanced magic. Or...dark magic."

They turned silent. If it was dark magic, then Percy might have been lying when he said that he didn't know anything, and that he wasn't with You-Know-Who. Could someone really lie that well? Ron shot Percy's back a suspicious look. He was still on the "phone," talking, but Ron gripped his wand harder just in case.

"What if he's alerting the other Death Eaters?" Ron whispered.

As if he heard him, Percy turned around and looked at Ron. Then he put the phone back and walked towards them.

"Do you mind waiting here?" Percy asked, casually, like he hadn't heard Ron. Ron narrowed his eyes, not buying it. "I asked someone to come. She's a lot better at explaining things than I am."

Ron glared at him. _I'm onto you_. "Are you sure you didn't just call your fellow Death Eaters?" he demanded.

"I'm not a Death Eater!"

"Likely story."

"Death wouldn't even taste good! And eating it would probably make a lot of people unhappy." Percy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _Hades might sew me onto his underpants_. Was he delirious? Percy wobbled a bit, hand pressed firmly over his wound. He looked too pale, and for a moment, Ron was concerned for him before remembering that he might be the enemy.

Louder, Percy said, "I promise I don't work for Snake Face and I didn't call over his minions. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm about to faint."

True to his words, his eyes rolled back and he toppled onto Ron, who caught him reflexively. He smelled like salt and the sea.

"Why me?" Ron asked helplessly.

"Maybe he knows how much you like him, mate," Harry said with a straight-face.

Ron glared.

Against his better judgment, they dragged him over to the curb and sat down to wait for the mysterious person who would explain things. Hopefully, Percy wouldn't bleed to death before she got here.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I am so so so sorry for the long wait! I hope this chapter made it up to you? It's a bit longer than how much I normally write. Is this a good length? Would you prefer longer or shorter chapters in the future?**

**I just proofread this once since I didn't want you guys to wait any longer. If you spot any errors, be it grammatical, content- or spelling-wise, don't hesitate to point it out! Thanks for sticking with me. And reviews make me happy, so - review? (And if I ever take a super long time again, don't be afraid to prod me. It gets me going.)**


End file.
